Paper plate holder



Dec. 27, 1955 A. s. BOWES 2,723,209

PAPER PLATE HOLDER Filed Aug. 4, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 27, 1955 A. s. BowEs PAPER PLATE HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 4. 1950 dfiazz/ezu Q2? 61% United States Patent-O PAPER PLATE HOLDER Arthur S. Bowes, Truman St. Clair, and Walter E. Am-

berg, Chicago, Ill., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 4, 1950, Serial No. 177,698

4 Claims. (Cl. 65-61) This invention relates to the service of food and it relates more particularly to the combination of a paper plate or disposable liner and a holder therefor to provide a serviceable unit for use in restaurant, hospital, home, or in-plant feeding and for picnics.

It is desirable to adapt paper plates or liners for such use because of economies which might flow by way of lower cost and the elimination of services for washing and drying. Such economies are ill-effected if the paper service unit is unable to function in an acceptable manner. In the past, paper plates have found little acceptance in hospital, restaurant, home or in-plant feeding because of their instability which results from the fact that they are light in weightand have very little strength or rigidity. If the concentration of fibers are increased by an amount to provide for greater weight and greater strength, the cost of the unit is also increased to the point where they are unable to compete with ceramic ware. If water repellents, surface coatings and binders are added in proportions to impart greater mass integrity and resistance to the absorption of fluids then the cost of the plate exceeds that which will permit its wide-spread use and acceptance for general feeding purposes.

It is an object of this invention to provide a serviceable unit including a paper plate or liner which is not subject to the objectionable features heretofore described but forms a low cost, disposable unit which is amply supported and held in position of use.

Another object is to produce a serviceable unit which includes a disposable paper plate and a holder which can be used over and over again as a support for the plate, and it is a related object to provide means whereby the plate or liner may be firmly held within the holder to provide stability and strength and to prevent inadvertent displacement of the paper plate.

A further object is to provide a serviceable unit including a disposable paper plate or light weight liner and a holder therefor and means on the holder for establishing a gripping relation with the plate from the under side, and it is a related object to provide means for effecting such gripping relation as an incidence to the movement of the holder into contact with the plate so that the assembled relation can be established without touching the plate by the hand.

It is a still further object to provide a serviceable unit of the type described including a holder and a paper plate therefore which can be manufactured of minimum material and in lighter weights than has heretofore been contemplated and yet provide for sufficient stability and rigidity.

With the possibility of making use of less material the further use of water repellents or moisture resistant coatings on the face of the plate becomes practical in the manufacture of a unit for restaurant, hospital, home and in-plant feeding. By the use of the combination of a paper plate or liner and a holder with a gripping relation established therebetween, the unit becomes more suitable 2,728,209 Patented Dec. 27, 1955 for picnic use because winds and moisture can have very little effect.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will hereinafter appear and for purposes of illustration, but not of limitation, embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawing in which- Figure 1 is a sectional elevational view of a plate holder embodying features of this invention shown in position of use for removing the uppermost plate from a stack.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the plate holder shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional elevational view showing relation of parts when the plate is anchored in position of use Within a plate holder;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a top plan view of a modified plate holder element embodying features of this invention;

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of Figure 6 and showing the plate liner in position of use and the parts inverted following pick up, as illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 8 is a top plan view of a further modification in a plate holder embodying features of this invention, and

Figure 9 is a sectional view similar to that of Figure 7 but with the plate holder element shown in Figure 8.

In accordance with this invention, a serviceable feeding unit comprises a plate holder 1 formed of substantially rigid material and having a dish-shaped portion adapted to receive a correspondingly shaped disposable plate or liner 2 and establish a gripping relation therewith to minimize the possibility of inadvertent displacement. Such gripping relation may be established as an incidence of placing the plate holder in contact with the plate to provide a new and improved pick-up feature or it may be rendered effective by relative movement between the plate and holder when in position of use. The gripping relation established between the plate and holder to form an acceptable place setting or serviceable unit is of a temporary nature such that the plate or liner can be removed and discarded and the holder washed for reuse as a support for another low cost liner.

As used herein, the term paper plate is meant to include plates and liners of thick or very thin wall section fabricated of fibers, sheet material or the like. If fabricated of fibrous substances, the fibers may be secured one to another without binder to lend mass integrity and water resistance and the plate may be used with or without a surface coating, such as resins, waxes or the like or the fibers may be treated with Water repellent materials to impart greater resistance 'to the absorption of moisture or fluids in the food which might be disposed thereon. The invention herein described and claimed is capable of making use of very thin liners which provides for the use of less material and consequent savings from a cost standpoint as well as the volume of material being handled in the manufacture of the plate and in the use of the plate. Y The gripping relation that is established with the under side of the plate or liner may take the form of a frictional grip between elements projecting from the plate holder and the outer side walls of the plate or the gripping relation may be established by way of deformation of the plate by elements projecting from the holder in the path of the plate whereby such elements become partially imbedded in the plate wall from the under side, but without piercing the plate. v

As shown in the drawing, the plate or liner may be an ordinary dished member having a circular base portion and upwardly-inclined fluted side walls 11 which terminate in a horizontally disposed annular rim 12. The fluted portions 13, when present, are usually laterally spaced about the periphery of the plate in predetermined pattern and they are adapted to take up the excess materiall resulting from molding of the plate from fiat sheet stoc The holder, shown in Figures 1 to 5 inclusive, is in the form having two or more horizontally disposed projections or spring fingers which extend inwardly from the side walls 21 on the plate holder to engage the side wall 11 of the plate in gripping relation therebetween when in position of use. The fingers 29 are mounted to engage the upwardly inclined side walls of the plate while the base of the plate rests upon a relatively fiat horizontally disposed portion 22, preferably of greater dimension than the base 10 of the plate. When in this relation, the lip 12 of the plate rests on an annular curvilinear rim 23 which defines the outer portion of the holder. Between the rim 23 and the base portion 22, the vertically disposed side wall is in the form of a stepped portion which includes vertically disposed portions and 26 separated by a horizontally disposed portion 250. A supporting bead 24 is provided between the part 25 and the base 22.

Integral with the rim 23 are one or more horizontally disposed cars 26:: onto which the spring fingers 20 are secured, as by rivets 27. The number of such ears 26a corresponds to the number of spring fingers 2i) and it is best to provide such fingers in a pattern about the plate holder in order to effect a desired gripping relation with the plate. It will be understood that the vertically or upwardly inclined side wall portion of the holder may comprise a simple curvilinear section that might correspond substantially to the contour of the plate adapted to be positioned therein.

The spring fingers which are substantially elongate rectangular members formed of resilient material such as plastics, spring metal or the like, are slightly upturned in the end portion 29 which extends through an opening 30 in the side wall portion 25. The ends of the gripping fingers are sharpened somewhat and are adapted to project into the path of the plate or liner to cause scoring and deformation of the adjacent side wall of the plate whereby a gripping relation is established when the parts are assembled in their position of use.

When used with a fiuted plate of the type shown, it is expedient to space the ends of the oppositely disposed spring fingers to permit placement of the plate within the holder without causing distortion thereof by the spring fingers: that is when the spring fingers are disposed between the fluted areas, but the spacing is such as to efiect a gripping relation between the spring fingers and the fluted portions when either the plate or the holder is turned relative to the other to imbcd the spring fingers in the wall of the adjacent fluted portion.

When the plates are stacked face down upon a support ing piece 31, of rubber or other frictional material, it will be apparent that the holder may be placed over the uppermost plate so that the fingers will rest in the region between the fluted portions of the plate. Then upon slight turning movement of the holder in one horizontal direction or the other, the fingers will be imbedded within the adjacent fluted portions to cause their distortion and the desired gripping relation will thereby be established. Thus when the holder is withdrawn from the stack of plates, the uppermost plate will remain seated within the holder which may then be used for a table setting.

This invention may be embodied in a simple plate holder of the type shown in Figures 6 and 7 wherein a plate is firmly held in its assembled relation in a holder 41. In this modification, the plate may comprise a simple dish member having a central flat portion 42 and upwardly inclined side walls 43.

The holder which may be used therewith can be formed with a corresponding central base portion 44 of larger dimension than that of the plate and with a corresponding upwardly inclined side wall portion 45 having a ring or head 46 of resilient or rubber-like material secured to an intermediate portion of the side wall to project into the path of the plate when in position of use. As shown in Figure 7, the resilient ring 46 is fixed to a shelf 47 formed in the side wall 45, and is formed with a lip 48 extending inwardly so as to be flexed downwardly by the side wall of the plate when the plate is actuated to position of use. In this way a frictional gripping relation is established between the lip lli and the plate. It is best to reduce the wall section of the gripping member in order to accommodate liners of weal; body.

In the modification shown in Figures 8 and 9, the holder is provided with a number of spaced apart gripping fingers 50 in the form of laterally disposed inwardly extending projections formed of rubber or other resilient material. The gripping fingers may be secured to the side wall 51 of the holder 52 in any manner well known in the art but it is convenientto provide a button 53 which can be inserted through prepared openings 54 in the holder side wall 51. To accommodate plates or liners which are easily deformed, the gripping finger may be of lesser dimension at its ends 54 adapted to engage the side wall 55 of the plate 56 from the underside. In constructions of the type described it is also best to provide a rounded upper surface 57 which terminates in a sharp edge 58 to permit free movement of the plate toward its position of use whereby the finger is flexed downwardly and grips the side Wall of the plate to resist inadvertent displacement.

Such embodiments last described are better adapted for use with plates having relatively smooth side wall portions but they may also be used with plates having fluted side walls with which the desired frictional engagement can be established.

A holder of the type described embodies a new and improved, sanitary pick-up feature in that it can be positioned over a stack of inverted plates and then pressed downwardly over the stack with sufiicient force to cause the desired frictional engagement to be established between the gripping elements of the holder and the side walls of the plate. Such gripping relation may cause some distortion of the side walls of the plate but it will be insufficient to tear the plate or to pierce the side wall portion.

It will be apparent from the description that we have provided a new and improved assembly includingv a plate or liner and holder therefor which is adapted for the use of relatively thin paper plates or liners in restaurant, home, hospital or in-plant feeding and for picnic use. It will be further apparent that improved sanitary conditions are made possible because the plate may be inserted to effect the assembly without being touched by the human hand and it is held in position of use by elements which engage no part of the exposed surface.

It will be apparent that one gripping element may be sufiicient to establish a gripping relation in the event that the plate is unable to shift by itself within the holder in a direction to free itself of the gripping element so as to prevent the establishment of a frictional gripping relation. It is best, however, if more than one such gripping elements are employed to engagethe plate therebetween.

It will be understood that numerous changes may be made in the details of construction, arrangement and operation of the assembly and the construction of parts thereof without departing from the spirit of the invention, especially as defined in the following claims.

We claim:

I. In combination, a substantially rigid plate hQlder of dish shape and having a base portion with side walls extending upwardly from the edge thereof, a thin walled disposable liner plate fitting within said holder and having a base element], and side wall elements extending upwardly therefrom, a plurality of generally horizontal and radial spring blades mounted on said side walls of said holder and having inwardly directed edges of scoring sharpness disposed around a circle of less diameter than that of said plate side wall elements at the level of said blades for scoringly engaging and deforming said plate side wall elements inwardly as a result of relative rotation between said plate and said holder, to retain said plate therein.

2. A plate holder for holding a dished thin walled liner plate, comprising, in combination a substantially rigid dished member for receiving the plate and having a base portion with side walls extending upwardly from the edge thereof, a plurality of generally horizontal and radial spring blades mounted on said side walls and having inwardly directed edges of scoring sharpness for biting into the outside of the plate side walls and deforming the plate inwardly as a result of relative rotation between the plate and the holder, to retain the plate therein.

3. In combination, a substantially rigid dished plate holder having a base portion and side walls extending upwardly therefrom, a thin walled disposable liner plate fitting within said holder and having a base element and side wall elements extending upwardly therefrom, said side wall elements being formed with flutes defining alternate external crests and valleys, a plurality of generally horizontal spring blades mounted on said holder and having inwardly-directed upwardly-turned edges of scoring sharpness disposed oppositethe outside of said side wall elements of said flutes around a circle of less diameter than that of said crests but of greater diameter than that of said valleys at the level of said blades for entering into said valleys and biting into and inwardly deforming said crests upon relative rotation between said plate and said holder, to retain said plate therein.

4. A plate holder for holding a dished thin walled liner plate, comprising, in combination, a substantially rigid dished member for receiving the plate and having a base portion with side walls extending upwardly therefrom, a plurality of generally radial outwardly-extending ears on said side walls, a plurality of generally radial and horizontal spring blades mounted on the undersides of said ears and extending inwardly through openings in said side walls, said blades having inwardly-directed upwardlyturned edges of scoring sharpness for biting into the outside of the plate side walls and deforming the plate inwardly upon relative rotation between the plate and the holder, to retain the plate therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 20,934 Collins Dec. 6, 1938 190,352 Milligan May 1, 1877 395,409 Waters Jan. 1, 1889 690,760 Oliver Jan. 7, 1902 1,164,962 Sayford Dec. 21, 1915 1,189,024 White June 27, 1916 1,213,194 Hill Jan. 23, 1917 1,301,596 Patton Apr. 22, 1919 1,344,802 Lackner June 29, 1920 1,957,253 Gray May 1, 1934 2,047,582 Hale July 14, 1936 2,094,257 Luck et al. Sept. 28, 1937 2,323,356. Rosay July 6, 1943 2,483,166 Amberg Sept. 27, 1949 2,483,167 Amberg Sept. 27, 1949 2,509,132 Carew May 23, 1950 2,509,133 Carew May 23, 1950 2,522,703 Collins Sept. 19, 1950 2,610,492 Carew Sept. 16, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 9,676 Great Britain Apr. 29, 1903 

